Light weight, non-slip, wear resistant boot

ABSTRACT

A light weight boot comprising an injected shell formed from EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate) and having a sole and a heel portion. At least one of the sole and heel portions has a substantial portion of an outer surface thereof provided with a patterned ground-contacting pad adhesively secured thereto. The patterned ground-contacting pad is formed from one of TPR (thermoplastic rubber), rubber or PU whereby to provide a non-slip, light weight and flexible wear resistant ground contacting surface for the boot.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The preset invention relates to a light weight EVA boot wherein the sole and/or heel portions thereof are provided with a patterned pad adhesively secured thereto whereby to provide a non-slip and flexible wear resistant ground contacting surface.

The present invention is particularly concerned, although not exclusively, to winter or rain boots which have their sole and heel portions provided with a wear resistant and anti-slip surface formed from one of thermoplastic rubber (TPR), rubber or polyurethane (PU).

BACKGROUND ART

Wear resistant and non-slip boots are generally formed from rubber material or TPR. However, a disadvantage of rubber boots is that they are heavy and this is particularly not attractive and comfortable to wear. Rubber material is also expensive and does not readily render itself to fashion designs.

There is therefore a need to provide a boot and method of manufacturing of a boot which may possess all of the features of the rubber boot, and particularly the wearability, but which could be light weight and waterproof.

It is known to provide light weight articles of footwear having excellent ground contacting surfaces which are non-slip but such are usually provided for the construction of athletic shoes and this type of shoe manufacturing requires a lasting and cementing process wherein, after the upper is cement lasted, many of the parts of the article of footwear are glued together. However, when manufacturing boots this type of process is not feasible due to its non-waterproof aspect and the high cost of manufacturing. All EVA shells or lower portion of a boot wear quickly at their ground engaging surface and are very slippery when in contact with a wet or icy surface.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

It is therefore a feature of the present invention to provide a light weight boot which substantially overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior art and which is provided with a sole and/or heel which is non-slip, light weight and which provides a flexible wear resistant ground contacting surface.

Another feature of the present invention is to provide a light weight boot wherein the shell is molded from one of EVA and wherein the sole and/or heel have a substantial portion thereof provided with a patterned ground contacting pad formed from one of TPR, rubber or PU.

According to the above features, from a broad aspect, the present invention provides a light weight boot comprising an injected EVA molded shell having a sole and a heel portion. At least one of the sole and heel portions have a substantial portion of an outer surface thereof provided with a patterned ground-contacting pad adhesively secured thereto. The patterned ground-contacting pad is formed from a material which provides a non-slip, light weight and flexible wear resistant ground contacting surface for the boot.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a boot shell of FIGS. 1 and 3;

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the patterned ground-contacting pad for the sole portion;

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the heel ground contacting pad; and

FIG. 5 is a side view, partly exploded, showing the construction of a light weight boot provided with patterned pads adhesively secured to both the sole and heel portions thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown generally at 10, a shell for a boot, such as the boot 11 shown in FIG. 5 and which is constructed in accordance with the present invention. The shell 10, as hereinshown, is a boat-like shell formed by injection molding and has a sole and heel portion 12 and 13, respectively. The shell is molded from EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate). At least the sole portion 12 or the heel portion 13 have an outer surface 12′ and 13′, respectively, of which a substantial portion thereof is provided with patterned ground engaging pads 14 and 15, respectively, formed as a separate part by injection molding and glued to the outer surfaces 12′ and 13′. The patterned pads 14 and 15, as better shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, are each provided with surface gripping formations 16 which project from the pad base 17.

The pads are formed from one of TPR (thermoplastic rubber), rubber or PU (polyurethane) which are non-slip materials which have the feature of retaining their flexibility in cold weather below the freezing point. They also have gripping and wear resistant qualities. A suitable adhesive 18 is disposed on the outer surface of the sole and heel portions or on the rear surface 17′ of the pads 17 and 15. This adhesive may be a heat activated adhesive, for example. Of course, it is within the ambit of the present invention to provide these pads on only one of the heel or sole portions of the shell but it is preferable to have them on both the sole and heel portions to provide a better ground contacting surface.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the gripping formations 16 extend above the outer surfaces 12″ and 13″ of the sole and heel portions of the shell a predetermined distance to provide better gripping when on snow covered or wet surfaces when the boot is to be used as a winter or rain boot. Accordingly, the boot of the present invention has substantially equal gripping and wear resistant characteristics as complete rubber boots but of substantially reduced weight and increased flexibility, particularly in cold weather, below freezing point. The upper 20 of the boot may have an inner liner (not shown) for comfort and insulation.

As shown in FIG. 5, various boot designs are possible by designing the upper 20 secured to the top open end 19 of the boat-like shell 10 (as shown in FIG. 1) whereby various fashionable designs can be fabricated. Low cut shoes such as shown in FIG. 1 may also be provided wherein no upper is secured to the top open end of the shell. The patterned formations 16 can have a multitude of designs.

Summarizing the method of manufacturing the article of footwear 11 in the form of a light weight boot will now be described. It is comprised of the steps of injection molding a lower boot portion or shell 10 including a sole 12 and heel 13 from EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate). A patterned sole and heel pad 14 and 15, respectively, is molded from one of TPR, PU or rubber and these pads are formed with gripping formations 16 which project from a base 17 of the pads. The pads are then adhesively secured to the heel and sole portions outer surface, respectively, whereby to produce an article of footwear which has a non-slip, light weight and flexible wear resistant ground contacting surface. Such characteristics are very attractive for the manufacturing of winter or rain boots, particularly for infants as the boots are very light weight and comfortable to wear and non-tiring to children while providing the safety feature of having a superior ground gripping surface on ice covered or wet ground or other slippery surfaces. 

1. A light weight boot comprising an injected molded shell having a sole and a heel portion; said shell portion being molded from EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate); at least one of said sole and heel portions having a substantial portion of an outer surface thereof provided with a patterned ground-contacting pad adhesively secured thereto; said patterned ground-contacting pad being formed from a material providing a non-slip, light weight and flexible wear resistant ground contacting surface for said boot.
 2. A light weight boot as claimed in claim 1 wherein said pad is formed from one of TPR (thermoplastic rubber), rubber or PU (polyurethane).
 3. A light weight boot as claimed in claim 2 wherein both said sole and heel portions are provided with said patterned ground-contacting pad.
 4. A light weight boot as claimed in claim 3 wherein said patterned ground-contacting pads are each provided with surface gripping formations.
 5. A light weight boot as claimed in claim 4 wherein said gripping formations extend a predetermined distance above said outer surface of said sole and heel portions.
 6. A light weight boot as claimed in claim 3 wherein said boot is a winter boot, said patterned ground-contacting pads retaining their flexibility at temperatures below the freezing point.
 7. A light weight boot as claimed in claim 6 wherein said winter boot has substantially equal grip and wear resistant characteristics as a rubber boot but of substantially reduced weight and increased flexibility and insulating property for use in cold weather below said freezing point.
 8. A light weight boot as claimed in claim 2 wherein said shell is a boat-like shell.
 9. A light weight boot as claimed in claim 1 wherein said boat is one of a winter boot or a rain boot.
 10. A light weight boot as claimed in claim 3 wherein an upper is secured to an open top end of said injected shell, said boot being a waterproof boot.
 11. A method of manufacturing an article of footwear in the form of a light weight boot comprising the steps of: i) injection molding a lower boot portion or shell including a sole and a heel from one of EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate), ii) molding a patterned sole and heel pad with gripping formations from one of TPR, rubber or PU, and iii) adhesively securing said sole and heel pads to an outer sole and heel surface, respectively, of said sole and heel portions whereby to produce a boot which has a non-slip, light weight and flexible wear resistant ground contacting surface, 